A public information meeting on the conservation and management of mountain lion populations in Montana is scheduled for Jan. 2, in Great Falls.

The meeting will start at 7 p.m. at Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 4, 4600 Giant Springs Road. FWP biologist Jay Kolbe will present information from the new draft Montana Mountain Lion Monitoring and Management Strategy, which is open for public comment until Jan. 11. Kolbe and other FWP staff will be available to answer questions. The meeting is informational only not a public hearing to formally accept public comment.

FWP is committed to maintaining sustainable lion populations in all suitable habitats of the state. Over the last 25 years, FWP has made significant investments in field research that helps inform lion management. With this and research done in other states and provinces, FWP is proposing to use the latest science and state-of-the-art methods and tools to monitor Montana’s lion populations.

The draft strategy does not lay out any population objectives or harvest recommendations but only speaks to guidelines as to how FWP will manage and monitor lions.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is reaching out to the public for information critical for an update to the Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan.

A public survey released last week asked anglers a wide variety of questions about their uses and preferences for the reservoir system and the adjacent stretches of Missouri River. The survey will be accompanied by a series of public meetings and open houses.

The Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan guides FWP’s management of Canyon Ferry, Hauser and Holter Reservoirs, the Missouri River from Toston to Canyon Ferry and the river below Hauser dam. This will be the third revision of the plan. The previous two iterations were in place for 10 years each. The current plan is in place through 2019.

FWP held public meetings this past summer to collect input on management of these waterbodies. This survey and next round of public meetings are an extension of that effort.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and can be found online at fwp.mt.gov.

Angler survey report completed on upper Madison River

FWP recently completed a report of angler surveys in the iconic upper Madison River and the results document an increase in angling pressure and some changes in angler satisfaction.

The surveys again show that the majority of angling on the upper Madison River is from non-residents. Additionally, anglers are increasingly dissatisfied with the number of anglers on the river and traffic at the river access sites. However, most anglers have a positive view of the angling experience on the river.

The Madison River is frequently one of the most heavily fished rivers in Montana. Due to the heavy use, FWP has undertaken many efforts to analyze use and reduce angler conflicts and crowding on the Upper Madison River during the last 60 years.

FWP is currently undertaking a negotiated rule making process to address recreation management on the Madison River. The Fish & Wildlife Commission is slated to appoint the negotiated rule making committee members at their meeting Dec. 10.

The angling report on the upper Madison River was primarily funded by NorthWestern Energy, which owns and operates Ennis and Hebgen Dams.

To gather information for the report, FWP used remote sensing cameras to track boat traffic from 2015 to 2017 at a fixed point on the upper Madison River. In 2016, a mail survey was initiated to survey anglers who had fished the upper Madison River and were identified through biennial pressure surveys. In 2017, FWP conducted a creel survey to identify and describe the current angling population, their perceptions, as well as catch rates by species and location. Creel surveys are done with anglers in person and on site at the river.

Significant findings from the creel surveys include:

Approximately 70% of anglers interviewed during the survey were non-resident, the remaining being Montana resident anglers

Gallatin County anglers represented 18% of interviews conducted.

Most of the non-resident, non-commercial use, is occurring between Hebgen Dam and Lyons Bridge Fishing Access Site, where fishing from a boat is prohibited.

Throughout the nearly year-long survey approximately 50% of the use on the float fish section of the river (Lyons FAS to Ennis FAS) was from commercial users.

Anglers from California, Utah and Colorado represented more than 21% of the interviews conducted.

More than 25% of people interviewed had not fished the Madison River more than one year.

While 70% of respondents indicate the quality of fishing is either neutral, acceptable or very acceptable, angling satisfaction is declining in some categories – 55% of anglers surveyed said the number of people float fishing between Lyons Bridge and Ennis was either unacceptable or very unacceptable. Similar levels were observed when people were asked to rate their satisfaction with the number of people and vehicles at river access points.

The results of the 2017 state-wide angler pressure survey will be available soon, and will provide additional information relevant to the Madison River.

To provide for public safety during logging and log hauling operations as part of the Three Cabins Timber Sale, beginning immediately the following roads/snowmobile routes in the Little Belt Mountains will close to all use, including snowmobile use, during weekdays. Members of the public will be allowed to access these areas on Saturdays and Sundays, only.

The following roads/snowmobile trails are closed to the public for any and all use (including foot, mechanized, motorized and stock travel) from Mondays at 12:01 a.m. until Fridays at 5:01 p.m. These areas will reopen for public use on Saturdays and Sundays, only.

Information needed on poached bull moose near Bozeman

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking information on a recently poached bull moose. The moose was killed approximately 1-mile up Moser Creek Road in the Hyalite drainage, south of Bozeman.

Christmas tree hunters discovered the carcass on Saturday, Dec. 1, and reported it to FWP on Dec. 3. When wardens investigated the area later on Dec. 3, they discovered that someone had removed the head since the carcass was first discovered on Dec. 1.